China, UAE create $10 billion investment cooperation fund

The fund will aid the two countries and third-party countries.

China and UAE joined hands to form a $10 billion fund that would aid the two countries and third-party countries.

The multibillion dollar investment cooperation fund was finalised in Beijing on 14 December where Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed AlNahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates, and were witnesses to the signing of the memorandum.

Talking about the newly formed relationship with the Arab world, Jinping said it will "play an important role in deepening bilateral, pragmatic cooperation."

The $10 billion will be invested in UAE, China and third-party countries, said Deng Li, Director of the Foreign Ministry's Department of West Asian and North African Affairs.

"It is a new type of measure with a vision of the future. ... The program generally eyes energy, infrastructure and high-end sectors," The People's Daily of China quoted him as saying.

The signing of the memorandum will be better for the visa services between the two countries and the two countries would recognise the driver's licenses in theirs, added Deng.

UAE is home to 200,000 Chinese people and is a huge market for Chinese made products.

The fund will be an added bonus for Jinping's 2013 announcement about the "One Belt, One Road" programme, that would be working to connect East to West by increasing connectivity through railways, ports, etc.

China has already established a $100 billion Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and a $40 billion Silk Road Fund for financing the ambitious programme.

UAE, will seek to be a strategic partner by aiding in logistics between trade between China and Europe.

China sees the UAE as a stable and long term partner in fulfilling its goal, reports The WSJ.

"The launch of this strategic, commercially driven fund represents the next stage of our partnership as we seek to work more closely in developing our economies and contributing to global growth," Sheikh Mohammed said, according to a news release by the UAE government.